Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 135 i 3D Artist

Our fantastic cover art was created using ZBrush, prepped for 3D printing before being painted. This is a perfect example of how different areas of art come together, and on page 46 we show you how to start your own. Sometimes we can get excited by starting something new, or discovering options you didn’t know were there. However, knowing how to learn these new skills, or even get your head around where to begin, can be a struggle all in itself. Luckily we have explored all the available options to learning 3D, so head to page 22 where we show you how to start your 3D journey and get the best from your own learning. Elsewhere we bring you the next instalment of our MPC series, this issue looking at…

Light it up Try to have as much natural light as possible, as long as it doesn’t reflect on your screen. This will help you to be aware of the time passing, and your mind and body will thank you. Take a seat Make sure you get a really nice seat. Doing this has changed my life and my back is happier for it. Make space Get a large desk or table, it’s so important to have empty space around you so that you don’t feel claustrophobic. There also needs to be some distance between you and your screens. Seek clarity It’s important to get a good screen, and I would definitely advise on using a workstation computer. Laptops are not made for 3D. Only use a laptop for your…

You can even 3D print directly using the 3D Utilities option in the 3D drop-down menu. Once you hook up your computer to a 3D printer, Photoshop will automatically scan and you can choose from the presented options, such as calibrating the printing plate, loading, removing, or even changing the filaments. Next you go to the Properties panel and select 3D Print settings, where you can set the size of your print and of course choose the level of detail you want to go for, then go forth with the 3D printing pipeline process. Just don’t forget to tick the Support Structures options so the small and thin details of your print won’t break!…

To create realistic eyes start by making two spheres: one for the cornea that you scale up a tiny bit, and the other for the iris that will stay inside the cornea. To sculpt the iris, mask out the pupil and remove those polygons. Make another mask around that hole to make a concavity for the iris where you can sculpt more details. In the cornea sphere, mask the same area and pull it out, making a smooth dome. Then texture the iris with an image or by painting by hand. You can also add some veins and later give it a shiny look by adjusting materials.…

HECTOR MORAN VARGAS (HEC) Miniatures for Men In Black/Ghostbusters: Ecto-terrestrial Invasion, 2019 Bio Originally from Mexico, Hector studied computer animation in the US, then moved to Europe to work in the games industry. After seven years of studio work he started working as a full-time freelancer and has been doing so for around seven years. Software ZBrush, Marmoset, KeyShot Learn how to • Use groups for ZRemeshing with better results • Refine a base mesh • Match the character to refs • Pose the character • Refine the pose to match concept • Refine and finalise for print • Present renders to client Concept The idea is simple. I’ve been able to match required art styles of projects before, so the plan here is the same: take Derek Laufman’s concept…

Cuts and keys is the process of chopping up the model into pieces that are friendly for mass production via two-piece moulds. This is part of the tasks for the sculptor, but in recent years it’s being phased out of the sculptor’s hands, at least on some projects. For years doing miniatures, I’ve done cuts and keys for dozens of figures. This process used to be more tedious with earlier versions of ZBrush, but the improved Boolean operations since ZBrush 2018 have made that process easier and faster.…

As you work through the different ways to retopologise your models you may find that you need to do some low-polygon editing to complete the job. There may be areas that aren’t quite as you planned, or you may decide to change the topology. ZModeler (B, Z, M) gives you access to a set of these tools and allows you to modify faces, edges and points. You can use tools like Bridge to join polygons with another polygon, Stitch to weld two points, Close to seal up a hole and so on. Take time to explore this brush as it has a huge amount of power to draw upon.…

According to Will Jeffers, the best way to steer clear of the uncanny valley is to constantly experiment and try new techniques. “The field of CG humans is always developing,” he adds. “It’s exciting to check out some of the amazing research that is being done in the field.” There is an assumption among 3D artists that human CG requires a big budget and infinite resources, however that’s no longer the case. “The technology is developing rapidly,” adds Jeffers, “there’s a lot of tools you can use to experiment.”…

MAARTEN VERHOEVEN artstation.com/mutte A regular contributor to this magazine, Maarten’s stunning sculpting work adorns this issue’s cover and in the training section he shows you how to sculpt your own mask, ready for 3D printing. Turn to page 46. HECTOR MORAN VARGAS (HEC) www.hec.mx Hector Moran is an industry expert with many years of experience working cross genre. Here he shares his process for creating stunning character sculpts, from concept to render, for the miniatures industry. Turn to page 68. AMBASSADORS ambassadors.com The world-famous studio Ambassadors have recently turned their hand to creating a photorealistic digital baby in the womb, a step beyond the more commonly seen digital actor. Turn to page 94 to find out more. DAHLIA KHODUR artstation.com/dahlia Art-led 3D artist and trainer Dahlia returns to the pages…

MAARTEN VERHOEVEN Kitsune, 2019 Bio I’m specialised in digital sculpting and concepting with ZBrush, for 2D images as 3D rapid prototyping. Being a digital sculptor I work on many different types of projects including concept sculpts, creatures, props, toys, collectibles and fine art. Software ZBrush, Meshmixer, PreForm Learn how to • Use Sculptris Pro • Use ZRemesher • Amp details • Hollow out models • Perform Boolean actions • Set up for print Concept I’ve been doing several tests with these head sculptures and after a trip to Japan I decided to create a ‘kitsune’ half mask. Fascinated by storytelling and cultures from all over the world, this is my take on this mythical creature. It’s always nice to be able to show your art in the physical world to…

DAHLIA KHODUR Sea Crab Sailor, 2019 Bio I graduated as a graphic designer, however I pursued my MFA in illustration and fine arts and worked with production companies to create storyboards for TVCs and animations. Now I teach design, illustration, and VR art at several universities in Lebanon. Software Photoshop CC Learn how to • Import a 3D file to Photoshop • Use a Diffuse map • Edit light direction • Use texture brushes on a 3D model • Apply texture to a Diffuse map • Colour correct • Paint over details Concept I have chosen a 3D print model of an actual sea crab. We will go for a more whimsical character and transform it into an adventurous sea crab sailor. In this tutorial we are going to cover…

The best way to add atmosphere to a scene and create a 360-degree image for a render is to use a Skydome Light with Arnold Renderer, with an HDRI map attached to the Color slot. Change the Color Space in your File Attributes of the HDRI to Raw. You can always change the intensity and resolution according to your scene. If you don’t want to see the image in the render and want to only use the light for rendering, you can change the Visibility of the camera to zero in the Attribute Editor of the Skydome Light.…

For this project I only built the non-human characters from scratch since some of them were unique aliens that called for it. After several years freelancing I’ve built myself a pretty substantial library of base bodies, clothing, sculpted hair styles and props. If I’ve built something similar before to something I need now, I search my hard drives for an asset I can modify or repurpose. Many of my base bodies have handmade topology that has been tweaked and improved upon through the years. This saves a lot of time and has allowed me to take on the full cast of figures for games like Street Fighter.…

Once you have a new model with good topology you can subdivide it and project the high-resolution detail back on. Make sure the new topology is in the same subtool as the high resolution but underneath it in the stack. Now subdivide it and use Project All from the Projection panel and the bottom of the Tool panel. Repeat that process and project again until you are at a high enough level to carry all the required detail. If you use Solo on the sidebar you can switch between each model and see if they look exactly the same.…

Software creators Red Giant have announced a new VFX Suite, consisting of nine tools for keying, tracking, cleanup and visual effects compositing, all inside After Effects. The VFX Suite aims to solve some of the biggest challenges faced by visual effects artists today. There are even tools for glows, distortions and lens flares. A full licence is available for $999, or an academic licence is priced at $499. You can find out more information by heading to redgiant.com/blog.…

TEXTURING After using Maya to open the UV maps, I painted a base texture for the skin using ZBrush and worked the leather textures and metals in Substance Painter. Then I worked on the textures in Photoshop, before using the layered texture to compose the maps within Maya. This allows me to see a preview inside Maya’s viewport, giving me a better sense of how it works in 3D. I used VRayAlSurface for the skin and VRayMtl for the other objects. Yago de Amorim artstation.com/yagute Yago specialises in modelling stylised characters for animation. Software Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, V-Ray, Photoshop Vampirelord, 2019…

Whenever business is quiet, or he’s struck with inspiration, freelance artist Pierrick Picaut will start a new personal project. “I choose a project that I’m not 100 per cent skilled in so that I have to push myself to learn new things,” he adds. Picaut also buys courses online, on everything from character creation and anatomy to environment creation. “You can find so many resources online that the only difficulty you will face is finding the motivation,” he says. Indie game artist Hannah Watts uses social media to keep up to date with artists that inspire and motivate her. “It’s very useful for seeing how others approach things,” she continues, “Sketchfab is similar in this regard. I love being able to zoom in to other people’s models and check out…

“What we found with Pikachu was that if you try and lay him out anatomically correctly, he’d be too rigid. As he’s bending, we realise that we couldn’t bind him anatomically, and so we made a volume for his head, chest and pelvis. We still wanted muscle for Pikachu’s anatomy. So, we built the animation version, [which was] too solid, and the volume version was too spongy. So, we used the volume version to drive the anatomical version, and blended the two together.”…

Carlos Baena worked as an animator on Pixar’s Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Wall•E, Toy Story 3 and Monsters University while at Pixar Animation Studios. Bobby Beck has also worked as an animator at Pixar on Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Cars. Beck is a driving force behind the success of Animation Mentor. Shawn Kelly has worked as a key animator at ILM on Star Wars Episode 1, 2 and 3, Rango, the Transformers series, the Pirates Of The Caribbean series, and a lot of the Marvel projects including Avengers: Infinity War and most recently Avengers: Endgame.…

One little note when you start pulling out shapes. While sculpting in ZBrush with Sculptris mode on, I would suggest not going over 1 mil polys on a single subtool, as I’ve noticed that it drag down your sculpting abilities a bit and creates some lag on your strokes. And to be honest, that’s the last thing we want while we’re trying to be fast in our shape explorations. I would suggest to only use medium and big brush sizes in the first stage, and later on you can refine spots on your sculpt if necessary.…

If you want to add a coloured detail but are still unsure about applying it, simply head to the Diffuse window. Add a new layer above your main fill colour layer to apply the necessary details on the 3D model. Using layers makes it way easier to organise your Diffuse map instead of having a flattened layer with all the information. You can also experiment with the transparency options layer to add more interest to your colour palette, such as overlay, soft light, colour dodge, and so on.…

MARTA MACEDO Drive, 2019 Bio I’m a 3D character artist with a traditional background, always interested in exploring new techniques or software to integrate into my workflow to create captivating characters and compelling images. Software ZBrush, Maya, Arnold, Photoshop Learn how to • Create a character from a concept • Sculpt details in ZBrush • Make textures in Substance Painter • Bake maps • Light a scene in Maya • Achieve better results with a good pipeline • Create compelling images • Render with Arnold Concept I chose this amazing concept from Gabriel Soares, a cartoon version of Ryan Gosling in the movie Drive, to improve my workflow, learn new software and master modelling, textures and light. In this tutorial you will discover how to translate a 2D concept into…

When it comes to sculpting miniatures, toys and collectibles you start stepping out of the usual character artist comfort zone, which often ends in T-pose. It’s one thing to match concept art or model sheets, it’s another to take one key illustration, often in a 3/4 angle pose, and to interpret that and fill in the blanks for all other angles and design gaps. This side calls for deeper knowledge of anatomy, body dynamics, silhouette, drapery, 3D composition etc. If you work from T-pose bases, one very important thing is that your sculpts don’t end up looking stiff or lifeless.…

There are many resources out there that aim to help digital content creators improve their understanding of basic principles, right through to mastering their chosen tools. Light for Visual Artists, by Richard Yot, differs slightly in that it aims to give a fundamental grounding in the subject, but also allows readers to apply the knowledge in a software-agnostic way. The cover design may be a little uninspiring, but that really shouldn’t put off potential readers as, once you start turning the pages, the quality is evident for all to see. Good-quality paper stock with well-designed layouts, illustrated by clearly reproduced imagery, are the standard here. The book is broken down into logical sections, with each narrowing in on a specific element of light and its use in the visual arts.…

Blue Zoo has announced it will branch into rights management for its own and third-party IP. Alison Warner will oversee the new division growing Blue Zoo’s slate of properties, as well as handling pre-sales, distribution, brand management and merchandising. In addition to managing the studio’s existing IPs,Warner will seek new projects to complement and diversify the portfolio. “I am truly delighted to be joining the fantastic Blue Zoo team and tasked with setting up a brand-new division within the company. It comes at a time where the UK animation industry is looking extremely positive with the UK Tax Credit in place and the Young Audience Content Fund launching, and I look forward to helping grow both Blue Zoo’s UK and international presence as a brand rights company,” says Warner. Co-founder…

3ds Max 2020.1 Autodesk’s latest update to 3ds Max focuses on enhancing workflows. Users can now easily customise, merge and visualise shortcut keys with a new hotkey system, and there is also the ability to extend your viewports across multiple monitors. There are also updates and improvements to the Chamfer modifier, giving users a more predictable modelling tool. Autohedge Happy Digital’s latest offering gives users a faster, easier way to make hedges for their environments. The plugin for V-Ray for 3ds Max instantly fills any mesh with a realistic hedge, with a variety of sizes and shapes available to choose from. Autohedge can be picked up for a special introductory price of $149 or $19 a month. X-Particles The latest release from INSYDIUM introduces the xpDynamics Tag – fully integrated…